Palestinian photographer shot in face with rubber bullet

Israeli forces shot Palestinian freelance photographer
Mohammed al-Azza, 23, in the face with a rubber-coated bullet on April 8, 2013,
in Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, according to local news reports. Al-Azza was
taken to a local hospital, where he underwent several surgeries to repair the broken
bones in his face.

Nidal al-Azza, al-Azza's uncle and a human rights
lawyer, told CPJ that al-Azza was filming clashes between the Israeli Defense Forces and local residents
from a balcony when a soldier demanded that he stop filming. When the
journalist refused, the soldier directly shot at him from approximately 35 feet
(10 meters) away, the lawyer said. The bullet fractured the photographer's
right cheekbone.

In an article published the next day, online Israeli
newsmagazine +972reported that al-Azza was afraid of leaving the building to seek medical care after
the attack. Israeli forces were firing additional rubber bullets at them while
they tried to exit the building, but after al-Azza's friend shouted that he needed
medical care, the soldiers allowed them to leave. +972 also published several of al-Azza's photographs taken on the
day of the attack.

Al-Azza teaches photography and journalism at the
Lajaee Center, a children's center in the Aida Refugee Camp. His work has been published
in the Palestine News Network, an independent news organization established in
2003.

The IDF has not issued a public statement about the
attack. CPJ's calls to the IDF were not immediately returned.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This case has been correct to reflect that Nidal al-Azza is the journalist's uncle--not cousin, as was previously stated.